


There's a Crown Covered in Glitter and Gold

by niebieskameliska



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Autism Spectrum, Canon Compliant, Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Post-Canon, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niebieskameliska/pseuds/niebieskameliska
Summary: Even with Akira being away from Tokyo, Futaba still has another brother to help her out whenever needed.
Relationships: Kitagawa Yusuke & Sakura Futaba, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 71





	There's a Crown Covered in Glitter and Gold

**Author's Note:**

>   * beta by sparrow @ikuzonos, thank you ♥
> 


"Oh." Futaba looks up from her laptop. Her eyes are bloodshot and glossy. "You came."

"Of course I did," Yusuke says firmly, stepping into the bedroom. It's much cleaner than back when he first saw it, almost a year ago now, but there's empty snack wrappers and used tissues thrown all over the floor. Futaba sighs tiredly, and Yusuke looks at her again. "You asked me to do so in your message."

"Yeah, I guess I did." She pulls the blanket swaddled around her form closer, shuddering. "Don't really remember. The panic attack really sucked."

"I— I see," Yusuke stutters out, feeling quite awkward. He doesn't really know what he should say, and it takes him a moment to add, "What would you like me to do?"

Futaba shrugs and, untangling an arm from the covers, points at the bit of an empty space on her bed. Hm. Perhaps Yusuke should find such an arrangement to be improper, but apparently Futaba is okay with it, so he dutifully sits by her side. He glances at the screen of Futaba's laptop and raises his brows. He expected to see anime or perhaps a video game, but instead there's a frozen frame of a few white people in aprons, mulling around a quite beautiful kitchen.

"Is this a cooking show?" Yusuke asks, surprised. Futaba shrugs again, but a crooked smile appears on her pale face. "You don't exactly seem the kind to find such a genre of interest."

"Yeah, I know, but it's been my recent relax thingy, or whatever." She pauses and wiggles a bit closer to Yusuke. Resting her head on his arm, she continues in a more serious tone, "It makes me think of Akira." 

She doesn't weigh much, propped against him, yet Yusuke finds himself focusing briefly on every square centimeter of their bodies touching. But — it does not bother him. At all. It's easy to shift his thoughts back to the conversation. "Do you miss him?" he ends up asking, and Futaba nods. 

Of course it is about Akira. And Yusuke understands it — he saw how much Futaba adored him. It was as if they were siblings, trading mischievous remarks and quiet reassurances; even after so long, Yusuke does remember and look back on those memories with fondness, for he misses Akira too. Just as the rest of the team, and for everyone involved the loss is extremely frustrating. 

But with Futaba, Yusuke thinks he should be gentle. She's wonderful, yet once so deeply broken, and she makes him think of kintsugi. The lines of gold like the faint, barely visible veins moving in Futaba's hand as she clicks away from the video. Bringing up the main page (or so Yusuke thinks, he isn't the best at social media), she types in a few English words and slides the laptop off of her lap onto the nightstand before returning to her previous position. A gentle, electronic music starts playing, quiet and calm. When Yusuke turns his face to see her properly, he can smell her shampoo. Chamomile, he thinks and gently rests his chin on the top of her head.

"I miss him a lot," Futaba whispers. She sounds so young, and something in Yusuke's chest clenches like a vice around his rib cage. "I miss him so much, but I don't want to talk to him about it 'cause it would upset him—" she takes a breath "—so I thought about this too much and ended up texting you, and yeah, I guess it makes sense I chose you, because... Because you're like me."

Slightly confused, Yusuke repeats, "I'm like you? How so?"

"Oh, you know. Different." She makes a sad noise, so Yusuke decides on shifting away to wrap his arm around her. Futaba sniffles and curls up tighter, and she's so small. She's so  _ small _ and  _ thin, _ and she must have cried quite a bit today, and suddenly holding her close feels like an obvious decision.

"Different," Yusuke repeats thoughtfully. "Eccentric. Strange. Yes, sometimes I do find myself painfully aware that my behavior is not always, hm, typical."

"God, mood." Futaba wipes her nose on her sleeve, then curls up even tighter so she's practically on Yusuke's lap and pressed to his chest. She's so little, like a newborn kitten, frightened and overwhelmed. The latter, Yusuke does know quite well, with how sometimes he fears the reality might crush him with its intensity. He breathes out slowly and traces a repetitive pattern on Futaba's back, where he's holding her with one hand, the other around her shoulders as she rests her head on his clavicle. Tiny, tired, her smart eyes clouded with the ghosts she cannot exorcise, Futaba sighs and stretches her legs so they're laid over Yusuke's, her knee digging into his thigh. She picks at the skin around the nail on her pinky finger as she starts speaking.

"It sucks, and I am dealing, and Sojiro had me meet with a doctor, but it's all still pretty messed up, and some days I, I just…" She breathes in, then continues, "I just can't deal that well with what happened, I guess." She makes a face. 

"I see, and please feel assured that I understand your troubles." Now that he's not feeling so awkward — and finding holding Futaba enjoyable — Yusuke has little problem properly verbalizing his thoughts. "While I must admit I'm unsure how I am helping right now, I shall try to be a good friend."

"God, you're so dramatic, you dork." Futaba sounds more like herself now, so that's a plus. Yusuke gives her a smile, and she returns it before closing her eyes. "Just stay like that, if you wanna."

"I do want to," Yusuke confirms. "It's… nice. You are surprisingly light and warm." He moves backwards a bit so he can lean on the wall, Futaba still curled up in his arms. Her blanket has come a bit loose so, after he tugs on it, it's now covering both of them. Without thinking much, Yusuke frees his hand to run his fingers through Futaba's hair. It's soft, more fluffy than silky, and she leans into his palm.

"Thanks." She scrunches her nose in a tired smile. "And you're all bones. Sojiro needs to feed you more."

"I would hate to impose," Yusuke murmurs, frowning. "Both you and Boss have been so much help…"

"You're a dumbass," Futaba informs him, voice flat. "Dad wants to hire you. Part time, flexible, you get not only paid but also can take some food to the dorms. But let's talk about it later, nerd." She pinches him on the side, and Yusuke lets out a sound that is _ not _ a squeak.

"What was that for? And, one second, what again?"

Pursing her lips, Futaba shakes her head. Yusuke rolls his eyes, then follows Futaba's example and closes his eyes. A bit of rest would be nice.

He wakes up three hours later, mouth tasting like death, to Futaba watching more of that cooking show with a wide-eyed expression. When she realizes Yusuke is no longer asleep, she makes fun of him until Sojiro texts her to, quote unquote, finally show up for the damn dinner, and take that boy with you. 

Well. As Yusuke watches Futaba pout at her phone, the warmth still resides in his bones. He catches her grin at something on the screen, and it will take him a few years to realize what his heart is saying right now.

_ Sister. _

**Author's Note:**

> a/n
> 
>   * **please comment/kudo if you read/liked this fic,** it'd mean a lot!!!
>   * title from oh wonder's 'hallelujah', a very lovely song that i really recommend c:
>   * listen. i am so soft for those kids.
>   * also. this isn't shippy!!! that's important. i have nothing against people who like romantic yutaba, but i'm not a fan of it. *victory sign emoji*
>   * those of you who follow me on twitter/tumblr (same @ as here) know that for the past few weeks i've been bonkers about the batk yt channel. in my defense: those dorks are adorable and amazing :v
> 



End file.
